The Bloody Reign Of Slayer is just about done and will be out in May or thereabouts. Thanks to all the people who emailed me for more information about it: when I have an exact publication date I'll post it here. The image on the left is a cover which may or may not be the final design. Cool though, isn't it?

Musicians who I've had the pleasure of interviewing this month: Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath (again), Kerry King of Slayer (yet again), Dennis Pepa of the mighty Death Angel -- and that's about it, as I've been thinking about the Slayer book and pretty much nothing else (except sustenance and sleep) the whole month.

Some very interesting book possibilities coming up... let's get Christmas out of the way first though, eh? Have a good one, wherever you are.

A slightly quieter month, thank God, although you can catch my writing in Bass Guitar Magazine (left, featuring my guest editorial), Metal Hammer, Total Guitar, Rhythm and Record Collector. Over the last couple of weeks I've also interviewed Geezer Butler, Billy Sheehan, Pepper Keenan, Kirk Windstein, Al Di Meola (spot the odd one out, eh?) and Michael Angelo Batio. Coming up: Death Angel, possibly Richie Blackmore.

Finishing The Bloody Reign Of Slayer (pre-order here if you're in the UK or here if you're in the US of A) this month. A rather dedicated bunch of thrashers are doing the foreword, I'm honoured!

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is out in Finnish, which is very cool -- the Metallica book I wrote in 2004 was a bestseller in Finland. I wonder what house prices are like in Helsinki...

Cool interviews recently: Matt Pike of High On Fire, Ihsahn of Emperor, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Mika Karppinen of HIM, the Reverend Tholomew Plague (crazy name, crazy guy, eh?) of Avenged Sevenfold, Chris Pennie of Coheed And Cambria, Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. I also appeared on Total Rock's recent Teach Yourself Black Metal show and forthcoming DVDs on AC/DC and Metallica. What a metal month it's been, anybody would think I never wrote about anything else.

I'm doing a 10k run for Cancer Research UK on 28 October. If you'd like to donate, go to http://www.10ksponsorme.org/joelmciver. Thanks!

I've just found out that combined sales of my 2004 book Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica have exceeded 30,000 units -- not quite JK Rowling standards, I know, but still something of an achievement in the oversaturated music-biog field. Thanks a lot if you bought one, and if you didn't, why, it's still available in English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Croatian and Finnish and shortly in Bulgarian! There's even a German-language audiobook on CD, narrated by the actor out of Das Boot, if you're so inclined.

Got this email from Poland: "I think your book Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica is really great. I read it a lot of times and I think, that you are topping fellow, you do not make shit, your work is work of art." Pure genius.

Some highly interesting interviewees around at the moment. This month it's been Daniel Erlandsson of Arch Enemy, Tom DeLonge of Angels And Airwaves (you know, the guy who used to be in Blink 182) and his axe-wielding mate David Kennedy, all-sibling (but not creepy) rockers Eisley, Sindre Solem of amazing death metallers Obliteration, old geezers Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt of Status Quo (the former launched into a completely unexpected diatribe about the evils of Catholicism and the importance of understanding the laws of relativity) and Dave Witte of Municipal Waste.

Next week I'm talking to Michael Bradley of the Undertones and David Vincent of Morbid Angel, neither of whom usually do much press. Also Rex Brown of Down, whose new album is rather good. All this hot air is for the usual magazines -- Metal Hammer, Total Guitar, Record Collector, Rhythm, plus the others on the About page.

Bookswise I'm still writing the big old Slayer hardback for Omnibus Press which I started ages ago. After that there are three official autobiographies on the back burner, just waiting for the right deal to fall into my inbox...

Keeping it brief this month. Cool interviews recently: most of Municipal Waste, Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue, Robb Flynn of Machine Head, Jim Davies of Victory Pill, Waldemar Sorychta of Enemy Of The Sun, David Gray and Jason Mendonca of Akercocke, Jeff Becerra of Possessed. Coming up: Greg Lake of ELP, Sharlee D'Angelo of Arch Enemy. I've done the usual stack of album and film reviews in Metal Hammer, Record Collector, Music Mart, DVD Review and elsewhere. I also compiled albums by Gary Moore, Colosseum (both I and II) and Deep Purple. And I edited the resources section in Classic Rock's forthcoming metal special. That's enough for one month.

Here's an interview I did with Metallica before their frankly awe-inspiring show at Wembley Stadium the other day.

And here's me being interviewed by a metal fanzine, The Legion.

There's so much to do I fear I may pass out before I finish typing this, but what a great position for a self-employed geezer to be in, eh? This is what I've been doing and/or am about to do: interviewing Dino Cazares, Buckcherry and Sum 41 for Total Guitar (I took a pic of Deryck Whibley, it's on the About page), interviewing folkmaster Davy Graham for Record Collector, interviewing Akercocke, Municipal Waste and Darkthrone for my Slayer book, trying to get Warners to reissue Airhead's classic Boing!! album (sign the petition for a reissue here and I'll be eternally grateful), interviewing Robert Trujillo of Metallica for Bass Guitar magazine at Wembley Stadium this weekend, compiling and sleevenoting a humongous hard rock box set for Union Square, reviewing the amazingly tasty Emperor reissues, the new Obituary album and Mick Wall's new Waxl Rose book for Record Collector, reviewing albums by Still Remains and Decadence Within for Music Mart and still trying to lead a social life of moderate debauchery and be a responsible family man.

In the new Metal Hammer (pictured above left) there are features by me on Hatesphere and Bad Brains, as well as some album reviews. So pick it up.

Occasionally I check the web stats for this site and it seems most people come here looking for Slipknot. It's six years since I wrote a book about them -- how interesting that they're still so sought-after. I'm writing a short piece for Record Collector on their long-lost demo album Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., which will set you back at least £100 if you can find an original copy. Which you probably won't: Mick Thompson told me "There are no fuckin' original copies!" when I asked him about it. And he should know...

Here comes the summer, and with it the new issue of Music Mart with my Queens Of The Stone Age (left), Machine Head and Linkin Park features in it. Total Guitar is currently running my Nine Inch Nails interview as well as, um, another Linkin Park feature. There's a load of reviews in DVD Review, Metal Hammer and Record Collector, too, as well as the usual stuff that I write about here every month.

Forthcoming features: funkmaster bassist TM Stevens, the even funkier Ozomatli, rock sluts Buckcherry... supposedly even Geddy Lee, who I've been waiting to speak to for ages.

Bookwise it's all about the mighty Slayer, whose first ever English-language biography I will be finishing soon. It'll be a big fat hardback, published globally by Omnibus, and I've been interviewing a load of Slayer-related personnel. It's fascinating stuff, although I say so myself. There's a press release at this Blabbermouth page.

I now have a Myspace page here, swing by and say hello.

Here's a classic clip of death metal geezers Deicide from 1988, when they were still known as Amon. Classic stuff.

Life is rather fine at the moment -- lots of interesting work to do, but not so much that I don't have time to lie around and do nothing when I like. And believe me, I do. While I'm doing that, keep an eye out for the new Music Mart with my Biffy Clyro feature on the cover, Bruce Foxton of The Jam adorning Bass Guitar mag (left), Metal Hammer with a Nox interview in it and all the other stuff I mentioned last month. And a piece about collecting Black Sabbath vinyl in Classic Rock.

Interview-wise it's been busy busy busy. I'm looking forward to a long chat with Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age as well as an interview with Darryl Jennifer of Bad Brains this week. John Myung of Dream Theater, the legendary John Martyn and Geddy Lee of Rush are on the schedule soonish, too. Danish thrashers Hatesphere gave good soundbite the other day, as did Ryan Richards of Funeral For A Friend, two of Linkin Park and also the great Marc Almond, who is still recovering from a motorbike crash that almost killed him in 2004.

I learned the other day that Ville Valo of HIM has a copy of my Black Sabbath book. Bless him, I would have sent the old goth a freebie on request.

Here's a truly excellent website that you must visit immediately.

And I highly recommend this book!

And -- for the truly keen only-- I'm looking for someone to do work experience. Admin, filing and a bit of writing. Mail me if you're up for it.

As spring arrives at last, my Trivium feature is on the cover of the current Total Guitar, an interview with Ritchie Havens is in Acoustic magazine and there are Machine Head features in Music Mart and Bass Guitar. A feature on the mighty Celtic Frost is also underway, and watch out for my Poison The Well and Annihilator interviews in the next issues of Metal Hammer and Total Guitar.

Radio-wise, you can hear me uttering pearls of wisdom at Gideon Coe's page (on the 29 March show at about 11.30am) and at 11.30pm on Total Rock on Tuesday 10 April.

I recently sleevenoted a Gary Numan Peel Sessions compilation as well as compiling and annotating Uriah Heep, The Nice, UFO, Status Quo (that's right!) and Asia collections.

Imminent interviews: Marc Almond, Nine Inch Nails, Devildriver, hopefully Geddy Lee of Rush. I'm also reviewing the new Queens Of The Stone Age album and others for various rock publications, as well as the usual bunch of films for DVD Review. It's all go round here.

My occasional (and not very serious) band The Corky Nips is playing a show at the venerable 100 Club on London's Oxford Street on 17 May. Tickets £5 from the singer.

Read this!

Too much work, too little time, but it's better than selling double glazing for a living. I've just had a weekend in California interviewing Trivium for the cover of Total Guitar magazine, in between writing about Lacuna Coil, Mudhoney and Opeth for Bass Guitar mag, Rotting Christ in Metal Hammer and the usual reviews in Record Collector, DVD Review and Music Mart.

Forthcoming interviews: Scottish alt-rockers Biffy Clyro, Dutch devil-worshippers Nox. I also have to write up interviews with Adam Duce and Dave McClain of Machine Head, nice guys both. MH frontman Robb Flynn made me drink a Brown Eye cocktail last week, it was alright until I asked what was in it (don't ask).

Films For Men is done and should be out in May or thereabouts, followed by a sequel in the series soon after.

Also slaving away on my big old biog of a big old thrash metal band, I still can't reveal who it is but their name doesn't begin with M...

Here's 'Kids In America' by Kim Wilde -- a song I loved as a kid and rediscovered the other day. This file is super low quality but who cares -- anyway you can buy it on CD here.

Next up from me is a movie guide called Films For Men, to be published by Beyond Black in the summer. The journalist Robert Crampton at The Times wrote about his contribution to the book in his weekly column on 3 February -- click the image on the left to read it.

Elsewhere you can read an interview I did with Paul Stanley of Kiss in Music Mart, another interview with Deicide in Modern Drummer, a chat with Viking metallers Unleashed in Metal Hammer, my summit on 1970s metal with Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth in Total Guitar and the usual reviews in Record Collector, DVD Review and the other mags listed on the About page.

I've just compiled and sleevenoted this Motorhead compilation.

Some recommended reading for you: the endlessly entertaining weblogs of Ross Halfin, Dave Ling, Joe Matera and Mick Wall.

Happy New Year and let's hope for a slightly saner year all round in 2007. This year there will be at least two new books from me, one a film guide with a difference and the other a biography of the world's greatest thrash metal band (any guesses?). Details here as soon as contracts are signed.

Click here for a review of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath in the Sun and here for another in the Daily Telegraph -- really.

A few people have recently asked me what I do and how I manage to pay my bills as a humble hack. The answer to both questions is that I write books (there are now 23 available in various languages and editions -- see Books page or just Google me), contribute to a ton of magazines, edit music books, appear on BBC 6 Music radio and the occasional TV show and DVD, and various other stuff. Most of which takes place at my home in leafy Buckinghamshire from my office overlooking a field with geese in it.

Here's an insanely fast and aggressive song by a Boston band called Watchmaker (2Mb approx). If you like it, buy their album. Cheers!